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Trapped by Scott Bartlett


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Dragon's Egg


Robert L. Forward - 1980
    Clarke In a moving story of sacrifice and triumph, human scientists establish a relationship with intelligent lifeforms--the cheela--living on Dragon's Egg, a neutron star where one Earth hour is equivalent to hundreds of their years. The cheela culturally evolve from savagery to the discovery of science, and for a brief time, men are their diligent teachers.Praise for Dragon's Egg"Bob Forward writes in the tradition of Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity and carries it a giant step (how else?) forward."--Isaac Asimov "Dragon's Egg is superb. I couldn't have written it; it required too much real physics."--Larry Niven "This is one for the real science-fiction fan."--Frank Herbert"Robert L. Forward tells a good story and asks a profound question. If we run into a race of creatures who live a hundred years while we live an hour, what can they say to us or we to them?"--Freeman J. Dyson"Forward has impeccable scientific credentials, and . . . big, original, speculative ideas."--The Washington Post

Echoes of Angels


Matt Larkin - 2013
    Then they enslaved us. Yet five hundred years after the angels vanished, humanity continues to obey. Professor Rachel Jordan dared to defy 3000 years of angelic doctrine, teaching that the ancient angels were never the saviors they claimed to be. The Redeemers, self-appointed guardians of angelic law, branded her a heretic. Hunted by zealots who would brainwash her back into the angels’ good graces, she flees to the edge of civilized space. But not to hide. Rachel’s only hope is a fabled lost book of the Codex, written by a rogue angel: the Sefer Raziel. Tracking the book to a desolate former prison world, she delves into the criminal underworld to ferret out its location. But her search draws the ire of greedy megacorporations, shadowy puppet governments, and the zealots who chased her there in the first place. As conflicting forces close in, Rachel must rely on dangerous allies and question the limits of her moral code to be the first to claim the Sefer Raziel. Even if it kills her. Because the only fate worse than death is knowing that her failure doomed humanity to eternal servitude. Echoes of Angels is the first book of Sins of Angels, an epic space opera series set 3000 years after the fall of Earth. With the scope of Dune and the adventurous spirit of Indiana Jones, Sins of Angels delivers a conflict that spans galaxies and rests on the spirit of a single brave researcher. Follow the complete saga, and watch as the fate of our species hangs in the balance.

Death Comes But Once


Eric Thomson - 2014
    But his temper and his loathing for careerist officers cost him dearly. Forced into early retirement, with a wife who left him long ago, no job, no friends and no future, the former sergeant crawled into a bottle and stayed there, moving from planet to planet, looking for some reason to keep on living. Until, that is, he wandered into a bar owned by an old Marine buddy who offered to help. On the run after killing a corrupt cop, and nowhere to hide, he accepted. Decker would have done better to head for the hills, or surrender to the militia, however old friends could be persuasive and he soon found himself signing on as security officer of a starship with dubious owners and a dubious crew, doing things for his new employer that tested the old saying 'Once a Marine, always a Marine.' Curiosity was Decker's other major failing and in short order he was on the run, hunted by a shadowy government organisation, and in possession of a secret that could destroy the Commonwealth. It was a secret to die for, and the people on his trail wanted to make sure he did. Along the way, they forgot that he could still fight like one of the Few...

The Ninth


Benjamin Schramm - 2014
    In the fallout of the devastation, a boy is found in the wreckage of a fortress from the Great War. The strongest of the Weavers, ones who can sense emotions in others, is dispatched to monitor the child. As the boy matures it becomes evident there is a dangerous power within him. Relocated to an academy on the edge of the Commonwealth, Brent is put to the test to determine if he is the greatest threat humanity has ever encountered. As his every move is observed and scrutinized he’ll have to face the exams of instructors, attempts on his life, and the wrath of the young Weavers.

Desperate Hours


David Mack - 2017
    But if she wants to keep the job, she must prove to Captain Philippa Georgiou that she deserves to have it.She gets her chance when the Shenzhou must protect a Federation colony that is under attack by an ancient alien vessel that has surfaced from the deepest fathoms of the planet’s dark, uncharted sea.As the menace from this mysterious vessel grows stronger, Starfleet declares the colony expendable in the name of halting the threat. To save thousands of innocent lives, Burnham must infiltrate the alien ship. But to do so, she needs to face the truth of her troubled past, and seek the aid of a man she has tried to avoid her entire life—until now.

Starship Alexander


Jake Elwood - 2016
    A worn-out ship. A crew of green cadets. And they're Earth's only hope. The Alexander is the last true warship, a relic from the days of interstellar war. She's destined for the scrapyard, and her captain, Richard Hammett, is about to retire. Their last mission is a training run with a ship full of cadets. It's supposed to be a routine hop through a wormhole Gate. But Gates have been going offline, one after another, and Hammett knows in his bones it means trouble. The kind of trouble only a real warship can handle. Defying orders, he takes the Alexander through another Gate, and puts the ship smack dab in the path of an alien invasion. Now a captain at the end of his career will have to take dozens of terrified cadets and forge them into a crew of warriors, because the Alexander is all that stands between the Earth and the swarming ships of the Hive.

Out of the Dark


David Weber - 2010
    So when the Hegemony Survey Force encountered a world whose so-called "sentients" "humans," they called themselves—were almost as bad as the Shongairi themselves, it seemed reasonable to use the Shongairi to neutralize them before they could become a second threat to galactic peace. And if the Shongairi took a few knocks in the process, all the better. Now, Earth is conquered. The Shongairi have arrived in force, and humanity's cities lie in radioactive ruins. In mere minutes, more than half the human race has died. Master Sergeant Stephen Buchevsky, who thought he was being rotated home from his latest tour in Afghanistan, finds himself instead prowling the back country of the Balkans, dodging alien patrols and trying to organize scattered survivors without getting killed. And in the southeastern US, firearms instructor and former Marine Dave Dvorak finds himself at the center of a growing network of resistance putting his extended family at lethal risk, but what else can you do? On the face of it, Buchevsky's and Dvorak's chances look bleak, as do prospects for the rest of the surviving human race. But it may well be that Shongairi and the Hegemony alike have underestimated the inhabitants of that strange planet called Earth

Decisively Engaged


C.J. Carella - 2015
     A NATION AT WAR: The United Stars of America. Born in the conflagration of unprovoked alien attack, the newest entrant to galactic politics took the few crumbs of hypertech gifted to it and ran with them, soon expanding over dozens of star systems and establishing a wide trade network, protected by its powerful Navy and the dreaded Warp Marines. A FIGHT TO THE DEATH: A single Marine platoon, tasked with protecting an embassy on a hostile alien planet. An embassy – and the human enclave around it – that soon finds itself surrounded by armed mobs. Can the Marines and a ragtag band of civilian and Navy personnel survive long enough to be rescued?

The Sentinel


Michael Wallace - 2016
    But when a strange warship appears, the crew is thrown into chaos as one faction is desperate to communicate with the newcomers, and the other will kill to keep their mission a secret. For the crew of HMS Blackbeard, a battered Royal Navy warship light years from home, the battle station may prove their salvation. But they must first overcome the reactionary forces on the station who would see them destroyed, and then team up with the survivors before the arrival of a menacing Apex fleet. The first book of the new sci-fi trilogy by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Michael Wallace, The Sentinel is an exciting, action-packed space opera for both new readers and fans of the bestselling Starship Blackbeard series alike.

Merkiaari Wars Series: Books 1-3


Mark E. Cooper - 2013
    Will the next encounter spell the end of mankind? 3 books and 1,200+ pages of alien invasion and interstellar action. Over 250 five-star ratings on Goodreads! In the far future, nanotechnology will be all that keeps us alive in a brutal war with the Merkiaari. Into this war-torn galaxy a courageous Marine, an alien geneticist, and a broken hero will unite in common cause... The Merkiaari Wars Series: Books 1-3 includes the first three installments in an epic space opera about space exploration and alien invasion. If you enjoy military science fiction stories that mix philosophy with political intrigue, then you'll love Mark Cooper's unequivocal masterpiece. Pick up this box set, and you'll get a free two-chapter preview of Operation Breakout (book 4). Buy The Merkiaari Wars Series: Books 1-3 and start reading today! Author Interview Q - What inspired you to write The Merkiaari Wars?A - I love science fiction and space opera. I can never read enough futuristic war novels about galactic empires! I always write books that I would read myself. When people ask me about other author's novels, I tell them to try the books I love. Books like C J Cherryh's Chanur series. I absolutely devoured them. Did you know my aliens, the Shan, were inspired by Chanur? I love the idea of cat-like aliens. My space battles are David Weber's fault. I could never get enough of Honor Harrington. And lastly, I couldn't possibly ignore his collaborations with John Ringo. John’s Empire of Man series is EPIC!Q - What order should I read the books in?A - Although each book in the series "could" be read as a standalone book, I don't recommend it. Each one is intricately woven into the overall story arc and linked to the plots of the previous novels. I'd suggest the following sequence:- Hard Duty- What Price Honour- Operation Oracle- Operation Breakout- Incursion (TBA)Q - So, why should readers give these books a try?A - Because the Merkiaari Wars series is a fast and fun story full of interstellar action that takes no prisoners! Each of the books is packed with futuristic space battles or ground warfare with high stakes -- mankind's extinction. Ultimately, readers who enjoy lightning-fast pacing about space exploration and alien invasion in a far future time will love the series. The Merkiaari Wars Series eBook Categories: - Space Opera books- Alien Invasion- Space Exploration novels- Genetic Engineering- Galactic Empire Series- Military Thriller- First Contact books- Space Marine- Space Fleet